Effectiveness the Theory-Based Intervention Based on Health Belief Model on Health Promotion Lifestyle in Individuals Susceptible to Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases are a main reason of disability and death around the world. Evidence suggests that many social and individual-based health-related factors are changeable and modifiable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a theory-based intervention based on the health belief model on health-promoting lifestyle behaviors in individuals susceptible to cardiovascular diseases.

In this quasi-experiment, we recruited 180 individuals having at least two risk factors out of five cardiovascular risk factors, including smoking, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and obesity. Data were gathered in three phases (before, immediately after, and five months after implementing the intervention) using the health-promoting lifestyle questionnaire (HPLQ), general health questionnaire (GHQ), and a designed questionnaire to measure the health belief model constructs. The intervention included five training sessions based on the health belief model. Data were analyzed using the statistical tests in the SPSS.

Findings showed that the theory-based educational intervention was effective in improving some domains of lifestyle, including nutrition, physical activity, interpersonal relationships, stress management and health accountability. Also, the mean blood pressure and the mean tobacco use showed a significant decrease in the intervention group after the intervention. Educational intervention also led to improvements in health belief model constructs including perceived susceptibility, perceived severity and perceived benefits (P<0.001).

Intervention based on an individual-based health behavior change model resulted in improving some lifestyle dimensions, model’s constructs and clinical outcomes. In order to provide wider and sustained changes, using ecologic models of behavior change including inter-personal, organizational and community-based models are suggested.